Neko Love
by Night-the-Dragon
Summary: Roxas, a neko, is on the run from their old village with his best friend Night, a dragon, and they eventually escape, thanks to a redheaded kitsune. With Axel's help, they lead a new life, but will it blossom into something more? Swearing, mpreg.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Okay, here's another fan fiction for you all, and hopefully I'll be able to keep up with all four of these stories at once! Wish me luck, and enjoy, everyone! Also, I'm using the term, "dobutsu" as the term for anyone like Axel or Roxas. It's the half-animal term, just so you know. I got the idea of using the term from **KairiMcEwin**, and I hope that that's okay. Okay, on to the story!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the story and Night.

Neko Love

Chapter 1

"Roxas, come on, faster!"

"I'm running as fast as I can, Night! It's hard to keep up with you!"

We ran as fast as we could, away from the town we had called home for a long time, and away from the angry mob that had declared us as freaks. We had long since entered the forest that surrounded the town, but knew we were still being pursued. How did we know we were still being chased? My keen sense of hearing and Roxas's cat-like hearing could still detect the crunching of the underbrush as the mob followed us. We couldn't stop running unless we knew for sure they were gone, but even I didn't know if or when they would give up.

Suddenly, while running, Roxas tripped, sprawling into the dirt and tangling his tail with his legs. I skid to a stop and quickly darted back to my blonde friend and helped him to his feet, untangling his tail from his legs at the same time. The honey-gold tail twitched nervously as I helped him up, and his golden ears flattened against his skull in fear. I listened carefully; the villagers were getting closer, which meant we were running out of time. We took off running again, but before long, the sounds of our pursuers were starting to become louder. I could hear shouting not too far off, and I began to panic in my mind. I looked at Roxas as we ran, and he looked as terrified as I felt.

Out of nowhere, though, someone jumped out and stopped us. I growled low in my throat, shifting in front of Roxas in order to protect him if need be, and flaring my silver wings slightly to make myself look bigger. The blonde stared at the person who stopped us, who appeared to be another dobutsu. His hair was like a mane, bright red and spiked back, spilling down his back until the middle of it. I had to strain my neck back just to look at his face, he was so tall. His emerald eyes glinted with amusement at my attempt to block Roxas from him, and the upside down teardrop tattoo he had under each eye made his eyes stand out that much more. I noticed he had a fox tail and ears, the ears hard to notice through that thick mane of hair he had, and the fur color matching his hair. He laughed when my growl increased to a snarl and I bared my fangs, but otherwise remained where he was.

"Night, we don't have time for this," Roxas reminded me quietly. "We need to keep running." I glanced at him, but nodded in agreement and started to try and push past the redhead. He grabbed each of us by the arm, stopping us in our tracks.

"And where do you think you're going?" he asked, still amused, but his tone was anything but. I bristled angrily, knowing we were all going to get caught if he didn't let go of us. He noticed this, however, and knew what was going on, too, it seemed. "Listen, just follow me; we can all lose them through here."

I gave him a suspicious look, but Roxas didn't question it. He quickly ran after the redheaded fox dobutsu, and after a split second of consideration, I raced after them through the brush. I caught up to them easily, my great speed meaning I could run much faster, but I needed to keep my pace with them. I slowed down to match their pace when I caught up, but allowed the fox to take the lead. His feline-like eyes seemed to be searching for something when we finally stopped, and I watched with interest as Roxas panted, trying to catch his breath. He was bent over; hands on his knees as he breathed heavily, and some of his golden blonde locks had started to stick to his forehead from the sweat due to our running. The redheaded fox, however, had hardly broken a sweat as he continued to search the rock wall we had stopped by. After a few more minutes of this, however, he pressed something, and a portion of rock slid out of the way. He turned to us and motioned for us to follow.

"Come on, we don't have much more time," he warned. "Once we get through here, they won't be able to find us." I cast a doubtful glance at him, and then looked to Roxas, who eagerly straightened up again and darted inside after the redhead. Upon my entering, the rock wall slid shut behind us, hiding our vanishing act from the townsfolk that were trying to kill Roxas and me. My silver armor started to glow slightly in the darkness, providing a small amount of illumination for us as we trekked along the tunnel. The redhead's vision in the dark must have been quite good, though, because little to no light from my armor reached him, and yet he walked down the path with ease. Poor Roxas, on the other hand, stumbled occasionally, but otherwise managed. I guessed it was from exhaustion that he wasn't fairing as well in here, because normally he does perfectly fine in darkness. I suddenly realized we didn't even know the fox's name, so I decided to ask.

"Hey, we never got your name," I called quietly to him. The sound of my voice, even quiet, seemed to shatter the silence and managed to sound deafening. Roxas shivered, so I used my fire magic a bit to warm him by providing soft warmth over his body. Once he stopped shivering, I noticed the redhead staring at me.

"You can use fire?" he asked, shocked. I huffed indignantly.

"Of course!" I snapped. "I'm a dragon after all!" And to prove my point, I flared my wings again and snorted, releasing a bit of smoke. He nodded, getting the point I was trying to prove.

"Name's Axel, got it memorized?" he finally said with a smirk after watching me for a few more moments. Roxas nodded, as did I.

I'm Roxas, and this is Night," Roxas introduced us, gesturing first to himself, and then me.

"Well, now that names are known, can we please hurry? I'm tired, and I'm sure Roxas is, too," I said impatiently, looking at my blonde best friend and noting the slight darkness forming under his eyes and the way his eyelids drooped. Axel nodded and quickly continued further along the tunnel until there was some moonlight at the end. We ran towards the light, bursting out in an unfamiliar forested area. I looked around, inhaling the scent of the forest and its inhabitants as I did so. I didn't recognize any scents other than prey and a bit of fruit, maybe some medicinal herbs, but otherwise I had no idea where we were. I looked to the starry sky for some guidance, but not even reading the stars could tell me where we were. It was a beautiful place, though, and I could hear the faint rush of water from a river off in the distance, and I relished in the sound. I hadn't been anywhere near clean, fresh water sources in years, not since I found Roxas, and that was somewhere around 18 years ago. I had always been drinking from the well water, or from a dirty pond that I would purify what I drank.

"Axel…where are we?" Roxas asked in wonder. His ocean blue eyes scanned the forest, marveling at its beauty, and I followed suit. It really was pretty, with all of the fruit trees, exotic-looking flowers, you name it. Even though the flowers were closed during the night, I was certain they'd be even more amazing in the daytime.

"This, Roxas and Night, is my home, plus home to many others," Axel answered. I cast him a confused look, to which he sighed.

"There's many others like us," he started. "Many other dobutsu, the ones who haven't been driven from their homes yet or saved from being killed, live here. You're both welcome here, but we need to see the tribe leader before we can go to my place and get you settled in." He began to lead the way, tracing a path I couldn't detect, his bushy, red, fluffy fox tail swishing occasionally. Roxas's cat ears twitched slightly at times, detecting sounds that I wasn't paying enough attention to listen for. I noticed the blonde's claws extend a bit here and there, and then he would sheath them. This was a sign he was nervous, seeing as he only did that when nervous, stressed, or something along those lines. Eventually, I could hear voices, and they got closer as we approached. Soon enough, Axel led us to a clear entrance of the village; or at least, that's what it seemed like to me. When we entered and the others saw us, I tensed up greatly, my muscles almost wanting to lock into place, but I kept up with Axel and Roxas, ignoring the stares I was getting. I could even hear faint voices whispering to each other.

"Why is there a dragon here?"

"That's what that is? I thought he was a weird-looking lizard."

"Well, he has wings, doesn't he?"

"Why would Axel bring a dragon to the village?"

"A dragon shouldn't be here…"

I scowled slightly at the whispers and mutters of the villagers, but remained focused on keeping up with my friend and the redheaded fox. Once we got to what I guessed to be the center of the village, Axel had us wait outside while he went into a rather large hut. It was larger than the ones we had passed by, so I assumed that this must be the tribe leader's home. Roxas and I stayed close together, nervous because of the stares we were receiving. After a few minutes, Axel returned outside, this time an older dobutsu following. The older one was a tiger dobutsu, judging by his gold and black striped tail and matching, slightly rounded ears. He approached us, but when I jumped onto Roxas's shoulder to have some more height, his eyes narrowed ever so slightly. I wanted to shred this old fool, seeing as he was judging me before he even knew me. I restrained myself, though, and was thankful I did. He looked the pair of us over, his eyes widening at something when he got close to our chests, and then backed away, seeming quite satisfied. Finally, he spoke.

"My name is Ansem the Wise, the leader of this village and tribe," he began. I sighed internally; here goes the infinite monologue…He yapped on and on, talking about the tribe itself, how it began and was founded, yadda, yadda, yadda. Eventually he stopped, asking us for our names and what we were exactly.

"I'm Roxas, a cat dobutsu," Roxas told him. I sighed mentally again; might as well get it done and over with…

"My name is Night, and I'm the only silver armored dragon to exist in the Dragon Realms, my old home," I said, but I saw no negative reactions from Ansem. In fact, he seemed pleasantly surprised about what I was. I was relieved, but who was to say the others would care? I was still a dragon, silver armored or not. The older man nodded, and then replied.

"Very good to meet you both. It's not often we've seen a dragon in the village, and when we do, they've always caused us problems," he said. "In fact, I'm surprised you haven't done anything yet." I grimaced, making my dislike for the stereotype obvious.

"Well, I'm not like those scaled beasts that are so distant in blood, I'm not even in the same species as them anymore," I retorted. "My kind is actually what saved your world from certain destruction back about…I dunno…20, maybe 30 years back?" The villagers gasped when I said this, and I had no idea why. "Is there something I missed here?" I asked, getting annoyed. Axel just stared at me, mouth slightly agape. Ansem then explained.

"Well, it was 23 years ago that on the day of the solar eclipse, there was the usual darkness that came from the moon blocking the sun," Ansem began. "But right after the darkness started, a dark light and energy poured out of some strange portal from the moon. The eclipse lasted longer than usual, but right before it ended, there was a massive roar of agony, and the dark light and energy vanished, and the eclipse ended."

I was stunned; I hadn't expected for the human world to even know anything about what had happened, let alone witness anything. I sighed, knowing I would have to explain my side of the story, but then my legs almost gave out while I was perched on Roxas's shoulder. Ansem took notice of this and decided to stop interrogating us. "Axel, take them with you to your home, and make sure they both sleep well. I'm sure, from what you've told me, they've both had a long day." Axel nodded once, and approached us. I jumped down from Roxas's shoulder, and Axel helped the blonde keep on his feet. I followed them closely as he took us to his home, which was a hut that was almost as large as Ansem's hut. He helped Roxas inside, where I aided in positioning my best friend on the bed in the guest room. I tucked him under the blankets, seeing and feeling him shiver before he was covered. I looked to Axel, who was staring at Roxas as though entranced. When the redhead realized I was watching him, he flushed slightly, seeming embarrassed. I cleared my throat before speaking.

"Axel, thank you…for everything," I mumbled. "For saving us and bringing us here when we had nowhere else to go or run to." Axel smiled warmly at me in reply.

"It's no problem," he assured me. When I cocked my head sideways, confused, he chuckled and added, "Don't worry about the other villagers. Once you tell your story tomorrow, I'm sure you'll be okay." I nodded, but suddenly realized something.

"Wait, do you know anything about what happened?" I demanded, quickly getting suspicious.

"No, I don't know anything about what happened that day," he answered smoothly. "I was too young, anyway. I was only two years old, after all. But I have heard some people tell about what they think happened, and whatever your story is, I'm certain you'll be fine." My suspicions died down after he said that, and I felt a bit better about living here. I looked at Roxas, who was sound asleep on the couch still, and sighed. I knew he would have a hard time trying to adjust, but maybe, just maybe, the kind redheaded fox dobutsu would make it easier on the blonde.

I looked back to Axel and asked, "Do you have any furs and feathers?"

"Yeah, why?" he asked, seeming confused.

"Just get me a few furs and a handful of feathers," I told him. He still seemed confused, but got me what I had asked for. I began setting up a makeshift nest at the end of the couch, and when I finished, I stepped back to admire my work. It looked comfortable enough, so I crawled under the top fur, curling up underneath and sighing with bliss at the softness of the nest. I looked to Axel, and he was watching me with clearly written surprise on his face. "What?"

"I just thought you would need to sleep on something…higher quality? I dunno," he said, shrugging. I wrinkled my nose at the stereotype.

"Well, my kind prefers the softness of feathers and furs rather than sleeping on piles of gold and silver," I told him coolly. He nodded, knowing what I meant, and bade me goodnight. I replied in kind, and then snuggled deeper into the nest, burrowing under the furs. Once comfortable, I began to drift off to sleep, my last thought being, _Things should hopefully go better from here…_

A/N: Okay, newest story's chapter, complete! I'll now be working on four different stories at once, so please have some patience with me, please! Anyway…ENJOY!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Okay, here's chapter 2! Now Night explains his story, but what will everyone in the village think, hmmm? Anyhoo, on to the story! Also, I'll refer to some of the dobutsu as the Japanese name for their animal unless I couldn't find one, just a heads up. For example, kitsune is fox in Japanese, and that's what Axel is, so…yeah.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the story and Night.

Neko Love

Chapter 2

The next morning, I woke up to Roxas gently shaking my shoulder. I groaned, but sat up slowly and stretched. After I gave a large yawn, I gave looked at my blonde best friend with tired eyes. His sapphire, cat-like eyes gazed at me warmly, but I noticed a hint of nervousness in them. He smiled at me, but I knew better than to believe it when I could see his anxiety reflected in his eyes.

"Roxas, what's wrong?" I asked.

"I…I'm just hoping that everyone will accept your story today," he mumbled. I wrapped my tail over his shoulders in a comforting manner, and nuzzled his side in reassurance.

"Don't worry too much," I told him. "If they don't believe me, then we'll try to find a new home somewhere else."

"But…what about Axel?" the blonde neko asked hesitantly. I looked at him, surprised.

"What about him?" I asked gently. He blushed and looked down at his lap, embarrassed, and I realized then that he already seemed to like the kitsune. "You like him, don't you?" I asked quietly so Axel wouldn't hear us. The blonde nodded, still blushing.

"Is that wrong, Night?" he whispered.

"No, it's not," I answered, and he raised his cat-like eyes to look at me in surprise. "As long as you truly love them, then I see nothing wrong with it." He smiled at me gratefully, and then we stood as there was a rather loud groan from another room, followed by a series of grumbles and curses. "Sounds like the kitsune is awake," I chuckled. Roxas laughed lightly with me, and sure enough, Axel walked into the room moments later, rubbing his eyes with his fists to clear them.

"Morning," he grunted, and shuffled to the couch that Roxas had slept on. Falling back onto the couch, he sighed heavily, and finally seemed to focus on us. His green feline eyes came into focus, and he grinned slightly, revealing his needle-sharp fangs. He leaned forward, stretching out his body like a cat's, and his bright red tail fluffed itself a bit. Finally, he spoke. "Sorry, I'm not a morning person," he admitted sheepishly. He shook his head slightly to clear it and smiled again. "Did you both sleep well?"

"Yeah," Roxas answered. "First time we've been able to sleep in without getting caught by people who want to beat us." I noticed a flicker of shadow cross over Axel's eyes when the neko said this, but I didn't think much of it.

"Well, remember, you're both safe here," he reminded us. "Night, you'll just need to share your story this morning after we eat. Does fish sound good?"

"Does it ever!" Roxas cried happily, and his honey-gold tail flicked back and forth with his excitement. Axel chuckled, but led us to a stream where there was plenty of plump fish lazily swimming beneath the water's surface.

"Okay, now when you fish, just wait for a fish to get close enough, and then swipe it o—" Axel was saying, but stopped when we each had snatched a fish out from the stream without hesitation. The kitsune's jaw dropped when we looked at him, each holding a fish. "How'd you get one so fast?"

"I taught Roxas how to fish once, and a stream this plentiful is easy to fish from," I explained. "He caught on fast, making him practically a natural-born fisher."

"Geez, way to make me look bad," the redhead grumbled. Roxas laughed lightly at him.

"It's fine, Axel," the blonde assured him. "We were doing it almost like you said, but we already knew how to do it, that's all." Axel softened at this.

"…Fine. But as far as everyone else knows, I taught you how to fish," he told us sternly, and we laughed.

"Deal," I said, and Axel was quick to catch his own fish, too. We left back to Axel's hut after getting a quick drink from the stream. When we got back, Axel set up some wood for a fire outside, and before I could react, he exhaled a steady stream of fire onto the dry wood. We looked at the kitsune in surprise.

"You have control over fire?" Roxas asked.

"Yeah, almost all of us here have elemental powers over something," Axel answered. "Why, do you not?"

"No, I have control over light," the neko assured him. Axel looked at me for an answer.

"I can control all of the elements," I told him. "Nature, fire, water, lightning, earth, ice, wind, light, and darkness." Axel stared at me, shocked.

"You just keep surprising me, guys…" he muttered. Upon noticing our confused looks, he explained. "Roxas, you're the first one to control light here, and Night, you're the only one that I've ever known to control all of the elements. Both abilities are very rare."

"Seriously?" I said in disbelief, and Axel nodded. "Wow…All of the dragons in my territory back in my old home can control all of the elements, light being the strongest."

"That's interesting," Axel murmured, looking deep in thought. Finally, we were able to eat our roasted fish, and we wolfed them down. When we finished eating, we left to Ansem's hut, where I was to tell my story to everyone. Axel led us there, and I held up the rear, keeping myself held up high so as to not show fear. Upon arriving, Axel entered first, and I was only able to pick up a couple words from the inside hear and there. Nothing important, though. Ansem exited his hut, his tiger tail flicking at the tip back and forth, and his ears flicking occasionally. The tora called everyone in the village to attention, and they all gathered around. There was a series of mutterings before Ansem silenced them with a snarl.

"Today, Night, the only silver armored dragon to exist, is going to share his story of what happened back when the darkness shone during the solar eclipse," he declared, and nodded to me. I swallowed nervously, but climbed onto a post to have better leverage to see the crowd and let them see me.

"Well, it all started several centuries ago," I began. "My twin brother, Shadow, the diamond armored dragon and leader of my clan, and I were being hunted down by our arch enemy, Ishu. Ishu wanted to kill Shadow and me, but we killed him first. He died, but came back to life a few centuries later for revenge. Shadow and I killed him on the day of the solar eclipse, therefore saving this world and stopping Ishu once and for all. That's what that dark light and energy was. Ishu was trying to enslave every single being in this world, and kill those who defied him, but my brother and I stopped him before he could."

There was silence from the villagers, and then hushed murmurs. Ansem stepped forward, placing a reassuring hand on my shoulder as he passed.

"I know that you're all worried about dragons and what they are capable of," Ansem began. "But I believe what he says is true, and that he is a good dragon. After all, it seems Night is a dragon that can control all elements, including light and darkness." There were audible gasps from the crowd at this point.

"That's impossible!" a pale blonde rabbit girl cried out.

"Well, if darkness can be controlled, why not light?" a spiky haired blonde panther man pointed out.

"How about he proves he can control all elements?" a lion man with almost shoulder-length brown hair and a diagonal scar across his face suggested. There were several murmurs of agreement to this, and Ansem gave me a questioning look. I nodded and stepped forward, cracking my knuckles and flexing them.

I climbed to the roof of Ansem's hut and flared my wings, and then flicked my wrists up, making two trees burst from the ground by the hut, one on each side. They quickly grew and sprouted several cherry blossoms, and then grew into cherries. I dismissed the magic, and then roared, releasing a large stream of flames from my jaws, and then shaped them into a phoenix, which cried out. I followed that with a jet of water, making it surround the phoenix without putting it out, and then extinguished the flaming bird. I shaped the water into a serpent, and then shot a lightning bolt from my free hand, which tore through the water serpent. Right before the lightning bolt could hit the crowd, though, I flicked the tip of my tail up, making a chunk of earth fly into the lightning bolt's path and shatter. I inhaled deeply, and then exhaled sharply at the trees by the hut, freezing them both solid with my ice magic. They looked about ready to collapse, and when they did, I flapped my wings, creating powerful wind blades that sliced through the ice no problem, reducing them to ice crystals. Finally, I concentrated, and then released a powerful burst of light that practically exploded from me. I sucked the darkness from the shade of the trees, and then released that in a look that was similar to a dark aura, and then it faded when the light returned to me, causing me to glow as I closed my eyes. When the light died out, I opened my eyes again to see everyone staring at me, stunned into silence. Finally, someone spoke.

"That was _amazing_!" the person, a spiky haired brunette dog boy, cried out excitedly.

"I will admit, that was impressive," a cheetah man with black dreadlocks tied back into a high ponytail murmured.

"Indeed," a large bear man with rusty brown hair agreed.

"So, does this show that he is a good dragon, rather than the evil ones?" Ansem asked the villagers. They called out their agreement, and Ansem turned to Roxas. "What is your element, young neko?"

"I can…control light, too," Roxas mumbled, turning pink out of embarrassment. Ansem's eyes widened in pleasant surprise.

"Show us, Roxas, what you are capable of," he told the blonde. Roxas's ears twitched slightly, and he stepped forward to show everyone his magic. I noticed Axel's fox ears were perked up and his eyes were focused on Roxas, his fox tail swishing back and forth a bit with eagerness. I had a feeling that if Roxas were to share with Axel what he felt for the redhead, then Axel would easily reciprocate those feelings.

Roxas gulped as he looked back to me, and I nodded him encouragement. He released an orb of light from his palms, and then made it dart around, turning into a streak of light as it went. He lashed out with his hand in a karate-chopping motion, and a blade of light sliced straight through the middle of the orb, causing it to split in half. The pair of orbs flashed brightly before darting about again, becoming several streaks of light with just a few more slashes. Finally, the blonde reached out with his hands, and then forced the orbs to slow and explode into bursts of light, which disappeared after a few seconds. Everyone started cheering when they saw this, the young inu and a sandy blonde monkey boy with his hair in a mullet/mohawk cheering the loudest. I jumped onto Roxas's shoulder and loosely wrapped my tail around his other shoulder, murmuring praise to him. He blushed out of embarrassment, but looked back at Axel nonetheless. The redheaded kitsune was applauding Roxas with a highly impressed look on his face. After the cheers died down, Axel approached us.

"Ansem said you guys can live with me," he said. "There are no empty huts right now, but when there is one, you guys are free to choose to live with me or move out."

"Thanks, Ansem," I told the tora, and he nodded to me.

"So…now what?" Roxas asked, seeming puzzled.

"I can introduce you guys to the others if you want," Axel offered.

"That would be great," I said.

"Yeah, I'd like to know who we'll be living in the village with, you know?" Roxas agreed. Axel chuckled, but began to lead us through the small village, introducing each of the villagers to us. First there was the small, quiet, pale blonde rabbit girl, named Naminé, and she was living with her best friend, Kairi, a sociable girl with darker red hair than Axel, and she was a squirrel girl. Naminé could control nature while Kairi controlled lightning. Second was a stony-faced mated pair by the names of Cloud and Leon, Cloud being the blonde panther man from before, and Leon being the lion man from before as well. Cloud could control darkness and Leon could control energy by using some of his aura. Third was the hyper dog boy with spiky brown hair named Sora, and his mate, a calm silverette wolf boy named Riku. Sora could control energy, and Riku could control darkness. Next was another mated pair that went by the names of Demyx and Zexion, and they happened to be Axel's two best friends. Demyx was an energetic monkey boy with sandy blonde hair styled in a mullet/mohawk that could control water, and Zexion was a gentle mouse boy with slate-colored hair that covered his right eye and could control lightning. Finally, the last four lived separately from the others, seeing as they had no mates.

There was Reno, a perverted coyote man with bright red hair that matched Axel's color, only it was long and tied back in a ponytail, and he controlled ice. He even had matching icy blue eyes. The funny part was that he wasn't even related to Axel. Next was Lexeaus, a bear man with rusty brown hair and hardly any show of his emotions, and he was huge, true to his animal. He controlled earth. Third, there was Xaldin, an eerily quiet cheetah man with black hair styled into dreadlocks and tied back in a high ponytail. He controlled wind. Finally, there was Marluxia, a pansy of a jaguar man with long, rosy pink hair, and he controlled nature. The day was almost over when Axel had finished showing us around and introducing us to everyone, so we decided to head back.

"Sooo, what do you guys think of the village so far?" Axel asked, looking back at us with a silly grin on his face, his tail swishing happily.

"I love it here so far," Roxas told him cheerfully. "It's so peaceful, and I love that. It's just a great feeling to not have to fear for your life constantly, you know?"

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Axel murmured. I gave him an odd look, but it quickly changed to curiosity as I noticed his expression was sad. Walking the rest of the way back in silence, we soon arrived back home, and Roxas stopped the kitsune before he could flee to his room.

"Axel, what's wrong?" the neko asked, concerned. Axel sighed heavily, but sat down on the couch anyway. He held his face in his hands while Roxas sat next to him and wrapped his arms around the tall redhead's waist in a comforting gesture.

"I guess I should tell you this before I overload," Axel mumbled into his hands.

"You've got our full attention," I assured him. He smiled sadly, and then spoke.

"Well, when I was still young, only four years old, I had a baby brother," he started. "My mother, also a fox dobutsu, was pregnant with my baby brother back when the hunt for dobutsu first began. She had my brother, Lea, shortly after they started to hunt us down. When we found out, she and I fled from the town we were in during the dead of night, barely escaping with Lea and our lives. We thought we were safe after the first mile, but when we stopped to rest, we were captured.

"I escaped, thanks to my mother, but they killed Lea on the spot, and took my mother from me while she ordered me to run. I was horrified as I ran, knowing I might never see my mother again, and I certainly wouldn't ever see Lea again. I was just fortunate that Ansem happened to find me while getting supplies with some of the others, like Cloud and Leon. They brought me back, and I lived with Ansem until I was old enough to get my own food and whatnot. As I got older, I swore to never go into another town again because I didn't want to face the same fate my mother did." And with the end of that last statement, the tears that had been building up at the corners of his eyes finally began to flow, and his shoulders shook as he started to sob. Roxas held the kitsune tightly, trying to comfort him, and murmured comforting words into his ear. After several minutes had passed, Axel calmed down and looked at Roxas.

"Axel, it's okay now," the neko told him. "We're here for you, and we'll always protect you, okay?"

"…Thank you…" the redhead murmured. "That means a lot to me…"

"It's no problem," I said. "We have to protect each other, no matter what." Axel nodded in agreement, and after a few more minutes, he led us to his room, where Roxas would share Axel's bed with him. I was to sleep in a nest at the end of the bed. After we had gotten comfortable, we bid one another goodnight, and then fell asleep.

A/N: Finally, that's all done! Okay, here's the list of dobutsu that have Japanese translations:

Dog=Inu

Wolf=Ookami

Monkey=Saru

Rabbit=Usagi

Squirrel=Risu

Lion=Raion

Tiger=Tora

Fox=Kitsune

Cat=Neko

Mouse=Nezumi

Jaguar=Jaga


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Here's chapter 3! Hopefully it won't take me forever to complete it this time, hehe. Also, I realize I didn't mention the season, but it was autumn when Roxas and Night were found by Axel. And one last thing, thanks to everyone who faved and added this story to their alerts! It makes me feel good inside!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the story and Night.

Neko Love

Chapter 3

The several weeks passed by quickly, and soon enough, it was winter. The frost came every morning, and it seemed like Axel and I were constantly being called to most of the huts to help with lighting fires to warm homes. It was pretty crazy with the chaos of trying to finish last minute preparations for the winter. According to Axel, some days we could be snowed in, so that was why everyone was so frantic and desperate for food and such to stock up on. The nice part about controlling fire, though? We didn't have to worry about gathering flint rocks and such to light fires with. We were only concerned with gathering enough food for the cold season. After a few days, though, we had enough food and other supplies to last us about a month. It was nice having enough stocked up supplies because now, instead of hunting for more than was needed, we just had to hunt for what we needed. It was great being fully set.

Sure enough, though, one night, there was a blizzard that fell over the village. Reno and I did our best to deflect the ice as best as we could to protect it from damage, but we couldn't stay out there forever. In the end, I had to cast an ice barrier around the village, but even that wouldn't last for that long. It would only stay intact for a few hours, and then it would fade. It faded, like I predicted, a few hours after we went inside, and then we were snowed in. Poor Roxas was shivering under the thin blanket that covered him, and when Axel noticed this, he quickly darted to the young neko's side. He wrapped his thick-furred, warm, bushy tail around the blonde, and soon after that Roxas's shivers calmed. Roxas sighed with content and rested his head on Axel's shoulder, closing his eyes with a small, satisfied smile on his face.

The pair had grown a lot closer over the past several weeks, and had even started to kiss quite often. Everyone considered them to be mates, even though they would actually have to mate for that to happen, according to Ansem. I smiled to myself from in front of the fire at this thought, but then frowned as I remembered about Roxas's heat. He would go into heat a few times each season, about once a month. He and I both knew the only way to stop it was to either wait it out or for him to mate with someone successfully, but he always ended up waiting it out because neither of us knew any other dobutsu at those times. Roxas had just been fortunate that he hadn't seemed to have made his heat noticeable to Axel, or else who knows what would've happened? I didn't really like to think like that about my friends, but I knew it would have to happen sometime. I was snapped out of my musings by Axel's voice.

"Roxas, are you sick or something? Because you're really warm," he told the neko. I stiffened, realizing it was around that time for Roxas to go into heat. I knew that the pair loved each other, but I didn't think I could handle being in the same area when this happened. I was surprised that Axel couldn't seem to detect Roxas's scent right now, seeing as it was very strong to me. Then again, it was crisp, cool, winter air in here, and I have a much better sense of smell than the others here. I looked at Roxas's face when Axel said that, and noticed the blonde looked both nervous and eager. I could tell he was nervous both about Axel finding out about his heat and mating with said redhead, but also eager to get rid of it by mating. I got up from the rug in front of the fire, where I had been staring into the flames, and joined them. My armor was nice and toasty from resting there, so I wrapped myself around Roxas and decided to distract Axel for a moment.

"Axel, don't worry too much," I assured him. "If he's sick, though, would you mind making some of your herbal tea?"

"No problem, I'll be right back," he said, casting the blonde another worried look. As soon as he was out of hearing range, I spoke to Roxas.

"You know you're gonna have to tell him before it gets any worse," I whispered. "It's not fair to him to make him worry about you like that, and besides, I'm sure he'd be glad to help you get rid of it."

"I know, I know…I just don't know how to tell him," he breathed.

"Just tell him straight out," I suggested quietly. "Remember, both male and female dobutsu can give birth, and I know that he's the one for you. That much is obvious."

"…All right, I'll tell him when he gets back in here," he murmured. A few seconds later, Axel came back into the living room and swapped me places. I took back my spot by the fire and stared into its depths as Roxas thanked his lover for the tea. I waited patiently, flicking the tip of my tail occasionally. Finally, Roxas spoke up. "Axel…you love me, right?"

"Of course, you're the best thing that's ever happened to me," he assured the blonde neko lovingly. "Why do you ask?"

"Well…does anyone here ever have a heat?" he asked quietly. Axel watched his neko lover as he answered.

"Yes, but no one has ever had any children here," the redhead answered. "Everyone here was found or found the village, and it doesn't happen often. Why?"

"It's just…I'm…in heat…right now," Roxas admitted almost too quiet for us to hear. Axel's fox ears pricked up at that and his expression became concerned for the blonde.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Axel asked worriedly, wrapping his arms around the little neko.

"I wasn't sure how you'd take it, and I usually just wait it out," Roxas explained. "Night had me tell you, and I know it's not fair to you if you were to catch my scent when I'm like this."

"Roxas, all you had to do was ask me, and I'd be happy to help," the redhead breathed into Roxas's ear. He then looked at me and said, "Thank you for having him tell me, Night. I don't want him miserable."

"It's no big deal," I assured him. "It usually happens about once a month."

"Well, still," Axel said stubbornly. "I want to be his mate officially, and I can't be that for him unless we do mate." He looked to Roxas. "Are you sure you're ready for this? Once we mate, you can't take it back." Sapphire orbs locked onto emerald ones.

"I'm very sure," the blonde murmured. "If it was anyone else, then never. But I trust you." I quietly got up and left the room as the pair kissed deeply and they began to moan right before I closed the door. I fell into a fitful sleep thanks to the sounds of moaning, groaning, and breathy cries from the living room.

X*X*X*X

I woke up later on my own, raising my head wearily and looking around. I realized I had slept in our shared room. The next thing I realized was that I couldn't hear anything from the living room. I heaved myself to my feet with a groan, and then opened the door and crept into the living room. I was greeted by the sight of my friends lying on the couch, naked, cuddled in each other's arms. They were uncovered, so I was surprised that neither was shivering. I brought a warm blanket out from the bedroom and carefully covered them with it, causing both of their tails to twitch slightly from the feeling of warmth. I was about to leave the room again for a squirrel that we had saved as part of our stock, when there was a small groan and a creak from the couch. It sounded like they were awake. I got my squirrel like I was originally going to, and then walked to the fire that was starting to reduce to embers. I tossed some more wood in and blew some fire on the leaves I had added to easily catch flame, and then the fire was merrily dancing again, providing the room with warmth. I looked over to the couch after I set down my squirrel, and saw that it was Axel that was awake. He had his emerald fox eyes gazing softly at Roxas as he stroked the blonde neko's spikes gently. I joined him by the couch as I ate my squirrel quietly. It was just a good, peaceful, comfortable silence.

"So Night," Axel began quietly, breaking the silence as I finished eating. I scraped the last of the meat from my teeth with a bone from the squirrel, and then looked at him. "How did you meet Roxas?" I sighed; I should've known he would ask that at some point.

"I actually was the one who helped to raise him," I started. "I was meant to be Roxas's 'dragon partner' I guess you could say. I had dreams about him back in my homeland, back before he was even born, obviously, and when I finally decided to come here and find him, it was 20 years ago. I searched high and low; everywhere I could, until I found him, orphaned and alone.

"I had made a good friend by the time I found him, a kind woman by the name of Aerith. She was human through and through, but she had no prejudices or stereotypes against any dobutsu. She was good to us, and helped me in raising Roxas because I couldn't raise him like I did my nieces and nephews. After all, a neko is different from a dragon, you know." Axel chuckled a bit at this, but I continued. "Anyway, it was later on, when he was about 8 years old that we discovered he could control light. We were all three quite surprised, but it was a good sign, Aerith had told us. We didn't know what she meant until we came here, and that was that light is a rare element to have control over.

"It was 10 years later that we had to run. The reason that we were fleeing that night when we met you, though, Axel, was because Aerith had been caught providing refuge for us when no dobutsu were allowed to live in the village. Any creature that wasn't completely human was seen as a freak, and therefore shouldn't live. Aerith was taken into custody by the guards and executed by a cruel monster of a man named Sephiroth. Roxas and I gathered our belongings when we weren't discovered and fled that same night after Aerith was captured. She had ordered us to do so, and told me to protect Roxas with my life. I already was, seeing as I'm his dragon partner, but I understood what she meant. We lost our things as we ran, and then we found you."

Axel was stunned by my story, and he stared at me with wide fox eyes. Finally, he spoke up. "I'm so sorry to hear that," he mumbled, looking at Roxas with sympathy. "I know how it feels to not have your family anymore, but not to be without family for almost your whole life."

"He had his family in Aerith and me," I corrected. "It was just hard on him when he realized he was different from everyone else. I comforted him when he was upset, but I knew he felt lonely. I think he's actually been thriving here since we arrived, rather than suffering from the loss of the only mother figure he had. I'm just happy that he now has you as a mate." Axel's face flushed a dark red at my last sentence, and I chuckled softly. "Don't worry; I won't poke fun at you guys."

"Thanks," the redheaded kitsune said gratefully. I nodded in acknowledgement, and he tactfully changed the subject to something related to what we had been talking about. "So…how did you resist Roxas when he would go into heat all those times before?"

"I'm not gonna jump my best friend and partner who isn't even my species," I huffed. "Besides, dragons of my kind don't exactly mate to have children. It's more wish-based, I guess. It's really hard to explain."

"Try me," Axel said cockily, and I sighed heavily.

"Basically, we can't mate with physical love," I began. "The whole thing begins with a male and female dragon becoming mates through both mutual feelings and a ritual. Once mated, a female can choose to have one…litter, I guess you could call it. She can have children only once in her life, and that's it. If she chooses to have them, she will, even without asking her mate if he wants children, too. That's what happened with my brother and his mate, but they were both equally overjoyed when they had their four children, my two nieces and two nephews. But in the end, it's up for the female to decide if she wants to have young." Axel let out a low, quiet, and impressed whistle.

"That must be hard, to only have them once," he murmured. "Especially if you want more than what you ended up having."

"Well, typically, the females end up with however many they want, as long as they know they're physically and mentally capable of keeping up and handling the young," I told him. I tactfully changed the subject at that moment to something serious. "Axel, what if Roxas ends up pregnant? I need to know you'd be ready for that if it happens." The redheaded kitsune's eyes widened in realization.

"I'll be there for him, no matter what," he told me, a blaze of determination in his green eyes. "I'll support him all the way, even through the birth of our children." As he spoke, I had noticed Roxas's breathing had changed and his ears twitched slightly, so I knew he was awake, but I pretended he was still sleeping. I knew he was listening in.

"That's what I wanted to hear from you," I told him truthfully. "And I'm sure Roxas wants that, too. I won't speak for him, though. I'll let him tell you how he feels when he wakes up." Axel seemed to remember that Roxas was still lying on top of him, and he blushed a dark crimson with embarrassment. At that moment, Roxas chose to 'wake up.' He groaned quietly as he stretched his body like a cat, and I heard his back pop in three places. Poor guy must've been pretty stiff.

"Morning," he said softly as he opened his eyes again. He smiled at Axel, who grinned back. "How's it looking outside?" he asked me.

"Let me check really quickly," I told him, and trotted over to the window where I peeked outside. There was still about a foot of snow on the ground, but we weren't completely snowed in anymore. I relayed this information back to the mated pair on the couch, and they nodded in understanding.

"Well, we should probably hunt, then," Roxas suggested, sitting up as he said it. When Axel and I agreed with him, he climbed down off from Axel's chest and pulled his pants and shirt back on. The redhead waited until his blonde was dressed, and then pulled on his own clothes. I looked away as they dressed, just as a common courtesy. Once we were ready, we shoved the door open, piling the snow up next to it, and I used some of my ice magic to move the piled-up snow out of the way. We left for the snow-covered forest, hunting anything we could, and we were lucky to catch a large elk. Since it was our biggest catch, we stopped for the day and went back home, spending the rest of the day inside with blankets piled on us and drinking steaming hot mugs of tea to warm us up. As it turned out, this was how we spent the next few days due to the cold and snow outside.

A/N: Here's chapter 3, finished! I hope you liked this, because that's about as close to a lemon or lime that I'll probably ever get. I'll be posting other chapters for a bit now, because I need to take a break from this one and catch up on others. Enjoy, R&R!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Okay, sorry about the break, folks, but I had to catch up and post another chapter of CTD before I started on this one! Hopefully it wasn't too long of a wait for you all, or else I'll cry! Anyway, on to the chapter!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the story and Night.

Neko Love

Chapter 4

Finally, the snow was fully melted after a week had passed since it started, and we were free to go outside again. But ever since Roxas and Axel had mated, they stayed together constantly, meaning they hardly went out unless we needed food or fresh water. It was strange, though; about a week after the snow had melted, I would sometimes catch Roxas with one of his hands on his stomach. I had a feeling he might be pregnant, but I didn't want to ask until I was completely sure. Fortunately, I figured out if he was or not one morning when I woke to the sound of him throwing up outside. I hauled myself to my feet and crept out to the back of the hut, where the back door was that led outside. I watched Roxas as he retched, his honey-blonde cat ears flattened against his skull and his tail stiffening as he got sick. When he finished, I made my presence known by clearing my throat so I didn't startle him. Roxas looked at me, his face pale and his expression one of shock as he realized it was me. I noticed all he had on was a pair of warm pants, and no shirt, and without a shirt, I took notice of his stomach, which was larger than normal. My eyes widened when I saw that, and his eyes became pleading.

"Please, Night, don't tell Axel," he begged quietly. "I want to tell him, but I'm scared to. I don't want to scare him…" My eyes narrowed in slight annoyance at this.

"Do you honestly think he'll love you any less if you tell him?" I demanded. "He told me once that he would support you all the way. Why would that change within a few weeks?" He looked away, ashamed. "Look, just tell him the truth, and I'm sure he'll love you all the same, maybe even more so. If he doesn't, I'll beat the shit out of him for you."

"Well, you won't need to do that," a voice said from behind me. I whipped around to see Axel standing there, his acid green fox eyes narrowed ever so slightly at Roxas. I curled my lip at him when I saw his eyes like that, and growled low in my throat. I couldn't tell if he was mad at Roxas, or upset with him for not telling sooner, but either way, I could tell he was upset. Axel's ears flattened against his skull when he heard me growl, but his tail lashed back and forth irritably. Finally, Roxas spoke.

"Axel…I'm sorry…" the blonde neko whimpered, tears budding in the corners of his eyes, and then he broke down sobbing. Axel's expression became a mix between horrified and concerned, and he quickly darted to Roxas's side, catching him right before the blonde collapsed from stress. I gave a low whine of concern, much like a dog's, and led them inside where Axel gently placed his mate on the bed.

Once Roxas was tucked under the covers, Axel crawled in beside him and cuddled his neko close to him, Roxas's sobs becoming muffled in the kitsune's chest. Eventually, after several minutes had passed, Roxas fell asleep, tear stains still evident on his cheeks and still trembling slightly. Axel soothingly rubbed his mate's back and soon enough, the trembling stopped, and Roxas's breathing became deeper and more even. I fixed the redheaded kitsune with a stern glare.

"Were you seriously mad at him or something?" I demanded. "Because he thought you were." Axel's eyes widened in realization.

"No, I wasn't mad at him at all!" he denied quietly. "I was just hurt that he didn't feel he could trust me enough to tell me…"

"And you can't blame him," I snapped. "This is all new to him; falling in love, mating, becoming pregnant, and then having to tell you on top of all that was making him stressed. He's spoken with me before about it, and he's just scared because of all of these new things that are happening to him. You have to understand where he's coming from."

"…I understand…" Axel mumbled. "I didn't realize that it was so stressful for him. Now that I know, I'll be there for him even more."

"That's what I wanted to hear," I told him softly after a pause. "You mean so much to him, and I know it would break his heart if he lost you or something bad happened to you."

"I feel the same way about him," he admitted. "I can't bear to see him upset like he was earlier, and that's why what I felt at the moment changed when he started to cry."

"I know what you mean," I agreed. "There's something about Roxas that makes you kind of go soft and worry about him. He's not a danger magnet or anything, but you can't help but worry about him."

"Exactly," the kitsune murmured. We remained silent after that, waiting for Roxas to wake up. After a few hours, he started to wake, and when he saw it was Axel holding him, he tensed up like he was in trouble. When nothing came at him, though, he opened his blue feline eyes and looked up at his mate with misery.

"Aren't you mad at me?" he whispered, his voice cracking from his crying earlier.

"Why would I be angry?" Axel asked.

"Because I…I'm…pregnant…" Roxas whimpered. Axel stroked the neko's blonde head and ears softly, and then hugged him tight to his chest in comfort.

"I'm not mad at you, love, but I wish you had told me when you had found out," the redhead told him gently, and Roxas flinched. "I'll always love you, and I'll be here for you every step of the way." When he finished speaking, the redheaded kitsune kissed his blonde neko deeply, and with a passion. After about a minute had passed, they pulled apart for air, and then seemed to realize that I was still in the room. I smirked at them, but said nothing until their faces flushed red with embarrassment.

"Oh, you just now realized I'm here, huh?" I teased. Roxas's blush deepened, and Axel spluttered indignantly. I laughed at them, and eventually they joined in, even if they started off with small chuckles. I nearly busted my gut, I was laughing so hard. When we had all sobered up, I sat back on my haunches as I watched the affectionate pair cuddling together. After a few minutes, though, I realized I had a question for them. "So, how do we tell everyone else in the village?"

"Well, we're gonna have to tell Ansem first," Axel pointed out. "After we tell him and he gives us his blessing, then we can share with the others. It's a tradition, I guess, that any dobutsu that becomes pregnant be blessed once they find out; even though there hasn't been one in so long, it's still held up. Anyway, they're gonna be at least a bit surprised, seeing as Roxas is the first dobutsu to become pregnant in the village in a long time. I already told you both how even though mostly everyone here gets a heat, no one ever gets pregnant. Maybe that'll change now…"

"Who knows?" I said, shrugging, and got back to my feet, jumping off the bed once I was up. "For now, we need to tell Ansem and get his blessing." The mated pair nodded, and Roxas pulled on his shirt again while Axe got into some day clothes, his bushy red fox tail popping out the back of his pants. Upon finishing getting dressed, the mated pair and I left for Ansem the Wise's hut. I hoped he was awake by now, even if it was after sunrise. Axel knocked on the door when we arrived, and a few seconds later, the elder tora opened the door.

"Axel, Roxas, and Night, what's going on?" he asked, seeming slightly worried. "Is something the matter?

"Well, we need to speak with you in private," Axel told him. Ansem nodded, and allowed us into his home. He gestured to the couch, and the two dobutsu took their places there while I perched on the arm of it next to Roxas. Ansem sat down in an armchair that sat across from them, and folded his clawed hands in his lap.

"Now, what did you need to speak with me about?" the old tora asked kindly, but still with a hint of worry in his voice. His amber tiger eyes gleamed with that same worry.

"Okay, where to start…" Axel murmured, looking down in thought. A few seconds passed, and then he raised his head, his thoughts more organized now. "Ansem, you know how most of the dobutsu here have their heat once a month, right? And that none of them ever end up pregnant, right?" Ansem nodded, showing he knew. "Well, during the blizzard about two weeks ago, Roxas had his heat, and since we both wanted to be mates, I mated with him. Recently, since I mated with him, Roxas had been feeling ill, and throwing up in the mornings. His stomach has also gotten a bit larger. We think—no, we _know_ he's pregnant. Will you give us your blessing?" Ansem's eyes widened at Axel's words, and he sucked in a breath.

"You're quite certain that you're pregnant?" he asked Roxas, and the young neko nodded shyly. "Then you have my blessing. I wish for you to have a healthy pregnancy and safe birth, and I pray for the safety and health of your child or children. Now you may go and tell the others, as I'm sure they'll want to know why Roxas won't be going out too often for a while."

"Thank you, Ansem," I told him gratefully, and the others gave their thanks as well, and then we went outside. Axel hugged Roxas tightly to him, but was careful of the blonde's stomach at the same time.

"I'm so happy," the kitsune whispered to his mate. Roxas pulled away after a moment, and then gave a quick, chaste kiss to his redhead. They separated when I cleared my throat.

"I know you guys are completely enthralled by this, but we need to tell the others," I reminded them. Axel chuckled at Roxas's nervous look.

"Don't worry, love," he assured his blonde. "They'll be very happy."

Axel wasn't kidding, either. When we went to see Naminé and Kairi first, the pale blonde usagi gave them a quiet congratulations, while the redheaded risu squealed happily and nearly glomped Roxas. Axel pulled her off with a quick scolding. Second was Cloud and Leon, and the raion gave them a grin and congrats, as did Cloud. Third was Sora and Riku. Both the inu and ookami were happy for them, and while Sora nearly glomped Roxas like Kairi almost had, Riku had an amused sparkle in his eyes, but they were also filled with a certain longing. Last for the pairs, we went to see Demyx and Zexion, the sandy blonde saru squealing and jumping up and down with joy as the slate-haired nezumi nodded to them with a small smile. After we shared the news with the mated pairs, we visited the rest of the village members. Lexaeus gave them his quiet congratulations in his deep voice, and Reno was pretty excited. Xaldin merely gave a small smile, and Marluxia practically danced in place. The pink-haired jaga was almost too excited for my comfort. I shrugged mentally; whatever made these people happy.

After we shared the news with the rest of the villagers, we left back for home. As soon as we got inside, though, Axel kissed his neko deeply, and the blonde returned the kiss with his kitsune. I knew that this was a special time for everyone in the village, not just for Axel and Roxas, but it was certainly more special for them than anyone else. I sighed quietly and rolled my eyes as the kitsune laid Roxas down on the bed, and I silently left the room to give them some alone time.

As I sat out in the living room by myself and it got darker outside, I thought to myself, although worrying was a better description. I lit the fireplace once the sun had completely set, and as I rested my head on my hands, I had a bad feeling something might go wrong later on in this life we now lived. It felt as though it might be connected to Sephiroth, but I couldn't be sure. After all, he had killed Aerith, and she was known to everyone where we had lived as the nicest woman to be known. Anyone who met her was very happy after a small talk with her; she was that gentle of a spirit. I remembered how angry the people of the town were when they found out she had been executed. They weren't too surprised when they found out about her keeping us hidden for all these years, seeing as she had a tendency to be a motherly figure to all.

If Sephiroth could kill her without remorse, I was terrified to think that maybe he was ordered to hunt us down. He knew my weaknesses, one of which being iron, which negates all of my power and magic, and the other being my loyalty and devotion to Roxas. To be completely and totally honest, I was beyond terrified of Sephiroth and him finding us, especially if he finds the rest of the villagers. I didn't want to put the rest of them in danger, and I knew that if Roxas knew what was going through my head right now, he'd want to leave to protect the others as well. There was only one other way of stopping the silver-haired monster, and that was to kill him before he found us.

I got to my feet, coming to a decision wit a determined expression on my face. I needed to leave now, and find Sephiroth and kill him. I had the capability to do it, but I knew I would need to be clever enough to ensure that I could attack him past his iron knight's armor. This wouldn't be an easy fight, seeing as he's the head of the guard, but this needs to be done. I can't risk the safety of those I care about. Silently, I wrote out a quick note to Roxas and Axel to find when they woke, explaining what I was doing, packed up some herbal medicine and food, and slipped out of the hut, sneaking away into the forest. I traced my steps back to when we had first arrived in this forest, and slid through the secret entrance that led to the human's forest. I trotted through the brush, heading towards the town Roxas and I had fled from when Axel found us. I was going to end this, even if it meant giving up my life. Weaving through the forest, the only thought in my head was, _Roxas, I'll come back to you, no matter what._

A/N: Okay, now that this is done, I can start my work on the next chapter of CTD, and hopefully that won't take me too long. Sorry about the wait here, folks, I've been really busy with school and things. Read & Review, peeps!


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Chapter 5 is finally here! Thank the lord! Okay, now you all get to see how the fight between Night and Sephiroth goes, but it's obvious as to who wins. Read on, AkuRoku lovers!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the story and Night.

Neko Love

Chapter 5

I traveled through the underbrush, sneaking my way towards the town. I arrived by dawn of the next day, and I remained hidden in the shadows, invisible to others. My eyes scanned the area, searching for Sephiroth. I figured there were two ways for me to find him: either hunt him down and fight, or cause mass destruction and fight when he came. If I was to start breaking stuff now, though, that would be a waste of energy. I decided to search a bit more, and if I still didn't find the silver-haired beast, then I would start destroying things to grab his attention.

I darted in and out of the shadows, moving quickly through the streets and stopping before I reached the castle where Sephiroth resided. Once I was outside the castle walls, I remained hidden in the shade, and then transformed into a small silver bird. I took flight, spreading my small, feathered wings wide and flew around the outside of the castle. I was searching for Sephiroth's quarters, and an entrance to said area.

As I flew, I suddenly caught a glimpse of silver, and I wheeled around to try and spot the source again. Slowing my flight speed, I saw it was really Sephiroth that I had spotted before. Upon landing on the windowsill near him, I studied the interior of his room and office. It wasn't too small for the fight, plenty of space for me to maneuver, and not too much furniture, either. That would make it easier to move around, too. I watched him as he paced inside his office, muttering to himself. I tilted my head closer to the window, eavesdropping. Mercifully, he didn't see me, and there was no one else in the office to see me, either.

"…stupid half-breeds," he was saying. "I need to kill them all, but they're in hiding somewhere. I just don't know where! All of those filthy creatures need to be destroyed! If only I could find them…" I narrowed my small bird eyes with fury. He was hell-bent on trying to exterminate all dobutsu, but I wouldn't let him. It can't end like this! I clicked my beak angrily, but continued to listen. "Those damned beasts that escaped me last time, all those months ago, need to die first, though…Because of them, I got demoted, but only slightly. I must find them, and kill them all, or else I'll never get back my position!"

I decided that I should make my entrance then. He wasn't wearing any iron, but he did have his long steel sword sheathed on his belt. This would be interesting. I reverted back to my dragon form and burst through the window, shattering the glass and scattering shards of it everywhere. I let snarls rip through my chest, up my throat, and out of my jaws as I landed, scaring the shit out of Sephiroth. He leapt back, putting his back against the far wall, and whipped out his sword. He relaxed slightly upon seeing me, but kept his guard up, knowing how much damage I could deal him. I bared my fangs at him, growls and snarls ripping out of my throat. Suddenly, he darted forward, slashing his sword at me, and it almost touched me. I jumped up, landing with my feet planted on the tip of the sword. As soon as he tugged, I stepped off, making the sword's dull edge smack him in the face. He glared at me furiously, but then his eyes widened in realization.

"You're the silver freak from before that Aerith helped!" he shrieked furiously. "Because of you and that blonde freak, I got demoted!"

"Yeah, and that's my fault how?" I taunted, and his expression darkened. He dashed forward, slashing his sword rapidly as he went. I knew this was one of his better, more dangerous moves, and that I needed to be careful. I used my armored tail to block his blows, and they bounced off of my tail.

I lashed out swiftly with my claws, scratching the bastard's cheeks, but also pissing him off further. He gave me a full-on death glare as I snickered at his bleeding cheeks. He slashed his sword at me, and I quickly performed a dodge roll, narrowly avoiding the blow. I lunged at him when he struck again with his sword, and crunched my dagger-sharp teeth down onto his non-sword wielding arm. He cried out in pain, but tore his arm from my grip, causing himself more pain. He howled with rage, and his attacks became blindingly fast. I darted away, dodging his attacks like mad, and striking out whenever I could. He continued to slash away, slicing through objects in his office like they were made of butter. His breathing turned into panting, and I knew he was wearing himself out. I snuck a glance outside through the broken window; midday. We had been fighting for at least a few hours. I suddenly felt a blinding pain on my head, and I screeched loudly, creating a powerful sound wave from the force of it, and sending Sephiroth smashing into the wall.

I crouched into a hunting position and stalked forward towards Sephiroth, baring my fangs with a malevolent gleam in my eyes. I was livid; he had struck me, and I wasn't gonna take that lying down. He started to shake slightly as I approached, but seemed to try and fight it. I hissed, and, flaring my wings, pounced at him, ripping my razor-sharp teeth into his jugular. I tore into his throat, and gave a malicious smirk when I tasted his blood welling into my jaws. He gave a gurgling cry of agony, and I released him, knowing he was a goner. I crunched my jaws onto his legs, just to make sure, and nothing happened, just the sound of bone breaking. Finally, I finished things up by snapping his sword in my hands and burning his body. Luckily, before the fight, Sephiroth must have locked his doors to his office, because no one had come inside. Now there was banging on the other side, and I was wise in making my exit, and quickly, too.

Launching myself out of the broken window, I spread my wings and took high to the skies, and then transformed into a silver falcon once I was out of sight of the castle. I started my descent, heading towards the forest once I had caught the scent of my trail from the forest. I landed, reverting back to my dragon form, and dashed into the forest, racing along my scent trail. I made my way carefully to the secret entrance to our forest and the village, and slid inside. As I picked my way through the tunnel, I thought about how safe we would be now. I just hoped they didn't try harder now to eliminate the dobutsu. I shrugged to myself; I highly doubted they would, not after what I had done to Sephiroth. After all, I'm a dragon, not a dobutsu. Finally, the end of the tunnel came into view, if the light at the end of it was anything to judge by.

"Ahh, sunshine at last!" I said to myself as I stretched gloriously in the afternoon light of the sun. Stretching out my wings, I allowed them to absorb some of the warmth from the sunlight. I soon resumed heading back home, and I pulled out an apple from my pack while I walked, biting into it and savoring its sweet taste. As I walked, however, I realized I hadn't washed the blood from my jaws off yet. Sighing, I made my way to the river, and began to wash off the crimson liquid. I ended up drinking some river water when I finished; lapping at the clean, pure water that flowed over the rocks. When I finished, I continued my trip back home. I slipped into the village unnoticed, and made my way straight for the hut Roxas, Axel, and I shared. As soon as I closed the door with a soft 'click', I was pounced on by a very panicked Roxas.

"What the hell were you thinking?" he yelled at me. I squirmed out from his grip and got back to my feet.

"I was trying to make sure we didn't have any more trouble with Sephiroth!" I told him. "And I succeeded, didn't I? Otherwise, I wouldn't be here right now!"

"But you could have been killed!" he wailed.

"I wasn't, and that's what matters," I told him calmly, holding his face gently in my hands so as to not claw him. His tense posture relaxed, and he hugged me, still slightly upset.

"I'm just glad you're okay," he muttered as I crawled up onto his shoulder. He walked further inside, where Axel was sitting on the couch, waiting. "Axel, Night's back!" the blonde said with a relieved tone.

"About damn time," the redheaded kitsune grunted, and got to his feet. He approached us, and once I was on the arm of the couch, he placed his hands on his hips. "Do you have any idea how worried we were? Especially Roxas!" I sighed; I should've known that this would happen.

"Look, like I told Roxas before, I wouldn't be here unless I succeeded," I said, my patience beginning to wear thin. "I wanted to ensure that Sephiroth wouldn't find us, no matter what, and the best way, in my mind, was to just kill him! I didn't know of any other way!"

"…Well, as long as you're safe and alive, that's what matters," Roxas murmured, hugging me like a stuffed animal, even though I was far from it. As soon as he let me go, I dropped to the floor, landing neatly on my hind legs. I smiled reassuringly at my best friend, and fixed Axel with a look that read, 'Don't test me.' The kitsune huffed, a bit pissy still, but shrugged it off. He gave me his signature cocky smirk, seeming in a better mood now.

"As long as you're here, then, how about some hunting?" he challenged. "First one to catch the largest buck wins." I pretended to contemplate his offer, making myself look thoughtful.

"What would to winner get, and what happens to the loser?" I asked, making myself seem innocent, though my thought process was far from it. I was thinking of a punishment for Axel if he lost, but I couldn't quite think of something just right that wouldn't affect Roxas, too.

"Well, how about this: winner gets to help with naming the child, and the loser sleeps on the couch for a week," Axel proposed, and my silver eyes glinted mischievously. Roxas gaped at his mate.

"Axel, that's not fair! I want both of your help!" he protested. I shrugged, but leaned over to whisper in Roxas's ear.

"If you want, I'll let him win," I whispered. Roxas's blue feline eyes widened at my offer, and he nodded so slightly that Axel couldn't tell. I smirked at Axel and said, "You're on. If I lose, though, then next time we do this, winner gets the title of 'best hunter', and loser gets the title of 'worst hunter'."

Axel nodded in agreement, and held out his hand. "Let's shake on it," he said, and I grasped his hand firmly and shook. He started to get ready, grabbing a hunting knife, his bow, some arrows, and a pistol. Once he was ready, I gave him a curious look.

"You do realize it doesn't take too much to kill a buck, right?" I reminded him. He rolled his eyes at me and left, taking off in a different direction from me. I silently took to the higher branches of the trees, and began to follow Axel. I needed to make certain that he got the larger buck, or else Roxas would chew me out later. If I were to go and try to find a buck that was smaller than what Axel might catch, it may end up being bigger than his. I didn't feel like getting on Roxas's bad side, after all. So I kept pace with the kitsune, watching how he tracked, using his heightened senses to sniff out a trail, kept his fox ears erect, and glanced around occasionally. His bushy red tail swished every now and then, almost as if in anticipation.

Suddenly, his head snapped up, and he looked ahead of him. I followed his gaze, and saw a small herd of deer ahead, drinking at a stream. Axel's eyes narrowed and he focused on the largest deer in the herd, the buck. It had large antlers, sharp hooves, and a large, muscular body. This had to be one of the largest bucks I had ever seen. I watched silently from the branches as Axel carefully and quietly pulled out an arrow, readied it in his bow, aimed, drew back, and released. The arrow struck its target right in the head, killing it instantly. I smiled slightly, but turned away and took off, soaring through the forest, easily dodging the trees and branches in my way.

I closed my eyes as I stopped a good distance away from Axel's hunt, landing and focusing my senses to pick up traces of deer. I sniffed slightly, and my hearing picked up the faint sound of crunching leaves under hooves. My eyes snapped open, and I took off, silently racing through the forest, and slowing down to a quiet stalk as I got close to the herd. My eyes flicked through the herd, trying to pick out the buck of it. I found him, all right, and he was, thankfully, smaller than Axel's catch.

I swiftly pounced, aiming for the buck, and severing his jugular, killing him. The rest of the deer had scattered by now, terrified when they saw me pounce, so I was alone with my catch. I heaved the carcass on my back, and began to trot back home. I grinned at Axel as though I thought I had won when I arrived, but pretended to be shocked upon seeing the size of his buck. I sighed, but dumped my catch next to his.

"I win," Axel told me smugly, his vivid green eyes gleaming with his cockiness. Roxas rolled his eyes, but decided to tell him the truth.

"Axel, Night followed you to make sure your buck was bigger than his," he told the redheaded kitsune. Axel's jaw dropped, and then he looked pissed.

"Why the hell did he do that?" he demanded.

"Because Roxas wants you and I both to help him with names, but he apparently wants you to help more than me, and that's saying something," I pointed out. Axel looked at Roxas questioningly. The blonde neko nodded and smiled at him lovingly.

"It's true. I want you to help name our child," he said, wrapping his thin arms around the redhead's skinny waist. Axel hugged Roxas back, his tail wagging slightly.

"Thank you," the kitsune murmured into his neko's ear, and then kissed his forehead.

"All right, you two," I said after a few minutes of them standing there holding each other. "Let's go home and eat. It's getting late." The pair looked at me and nodded, and then we left for home. That night, we ate heartily, Roxas eating the most, surprisingly enough. Then again, he had a baby growing inside of him, so it made sense. We all went to sleep that night feeling happy and full, and as I drifted off, I thought, _I can't wait for the baby to be born…_

A/N: I am soooooo sorry I took forever in updating this! I had major writer's block until I started writing Angel, Demon, & Dragon, but now I'll start updating my other stories again, okay? I hope you like this one! R&R, peeps!


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Okay, here we go! It's a time skip, btw. I DO NOT want to go through Roxas's pregnancy day by day, thank you very much! In fact, here's the birth chapter! Enjoy~

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the story, Night, and the daughter.

Neko Love

Chapter 6

It had been four months since Axel had gotten Roxas pregnant, and with each passing week, Roxas's stomach was getting more and more swollen from the young he was carrying. I noticed that his stomach was larger than a normal pregnancy, so I knew that my blonde friend would be expecting twins, maybe even triplets. The days were passing quickly, it seemed, and as the blonde neko's due date approached with less than a month away, I decided to share my suspicions with him. That night, he was lying contentedly on the couch with his head in Axel's lap, purring happily. Axel occasionally placed light kisses on his mate's forehead and nose, making the volume of Roxas's purring increase. I smiled softly at the sight; it reminded me of my brother and his mate back at my old home.

"Roxas?" I said, shaking the thoughts of my old life out of my head. He turned his head to me, still content.

"Yes, Night?" he replied.

"I think you may be expecting more than one baby," I told him, coming straight out with it. His ocean blue feline eyes widened in shock.

"What makes you think that?" he asked, his voice trembling a bit. I sighed.

"It's just that your stomach is larger than a normal pregnancy with just one, so I think you may be expecting twins, maybe even triplets," I explained. "Also, it's just this feeling I have." Roxas was silent for a long moment, closing his eyes and inhaling deeply. When he opened them, they were bright with excitement.

"I'm happy with however many children I have," he told me. "I just didn't think I would have more than one until you brought it up, Night. Now we can come up with more than one name, just in case." Axel finally spoke up.

"Well, if we have a son at all, can we name him Lea?" he asked quietly. Roxas and I looked at him, and Roxas purred as he replied.

"Of course, Axel!" he assured him. "And if we have another son, we'll name him Ventus. He was someone who once helped us and gave us refuge for a few years."

"How about a girl's name, too, guys?" I suggested with a smirk. "I've got one. What about Shunketsu?"

"That's a pretty name, Night," Roxas murmured. "What's the significance of it?"

"That's the name of my older half-sister," I told them. "It means 'hero', and that's what she was. She was always nice to me, even though we didn't know the other existed until I was at least 600 years old. We met during a war period in my home world, but I didn't know she was my sister until she told me later on. Shunketsu was actually a very powerful dragon, but her personality brightened everyone up around her. She was stubborn and never gave up, but was always very kind."

"Wow, Night," Roxas breathed. "I never knew any of that until now. How come you didn't tell me sooner?"

"I didn't mention it because it didn't come up," I replied simply. "Besides, there are just some things you don't need to know about me."

"Like…?" Axel pressed, and I scowled.

"Like the fact that I was hated amongst many of the dragons in my own clan, just because I was born silver, not black, dark grey, or light grey," I snapped irritably, and the pair on the couch stared at me in shock. I lowered my head in shame. "Sorry…" I murmured.

"No need to apologize," the redheaded kitsune assured me. "I know how it feels to not want to share something, and then be pressed into sharing it anyway. Sorry for making you say that."

"…It's okay…" I mumbled.

"Night, you know it's okay to share things with us, right?" Roxas asked.

"Yeah, but…it's stuff you wouldn't want to hear, and it would only make you guys depressed," I said softly. "I'm sure you didn't like hearing that I was hated, even though I'm the twin brother of the leader of my clan. Honestly, though, most of my clan was happy to see me leave for here when I got those dreams to find you, Roxas. The only ones who were sad to see me leave were my family, my brother's mate, and the rest of my friends from other clans during our journey." Roxas's eyes were shining with unshed tears by this time, and when I stopped speaking, he got off the couch and hugged me close. I felt hot tears flow from his cheeks and down my armor, and heard his sobs as he cried.

"I'm so sorry that happened to you, Night," he whispered in my ear. Axel was gazing at me sadly, too.

"Well, there's nothing I can do about it now," I told them. "What's done is done; you can't change the past. Besides, I don't like being pitied. It makes me feel weak."

"You're right…" Axel agreed quietly. I realized what he meant at the same time Roxas seemed to; he was talking about his baby brother that had been taken from him along with his family when he was young. The neko released me and quickly went to his kitsune and embraced him as tightly as he could around his pregnant belly.

"Axel, maybe it just wasn't the right time for him, and maybe now it will be," Roxas murmured to his mate. "That's just the feeling I get." Axel hugged him back, his emerald eyes closed tightly as he tried to hold back tears. They held each other for a long moment, and then Roxas curled up on Axel's lap, yawning widely. Axel kissed his neko tenderly on the forehead, whispering, "Thank you…" before the blonde fell asleep.

"Thank you, too, Night," he told me softly before picking Roxas up and leaving to their room for bed. I nodded with a small smile on my face as I crawled into my nest and tucked my nose into my tail, going to sleep.

X*X(Four Weeks Later)X*X

It was four weeks later when it happened. It was dawn, and I was shaken awake by Axel, who was in a panic. I groggily lifted my head and opened my eyes, slightly perturbed by the kitsune's actions until I saw his worried expression.

"Axel? What's wrong?" I asked.

"It's Roxas. I think he's about to give birth, and he's in a lot of pain," the redhead said quickly, and I was on my feet in an instant. I was wide awake now, and could hear Roxas's cries of pain coming from the bedroom. I fixed Axel with a serious look.

"Axel, I need you to go get Zexion and Demyx, now," I ordered. "Zexion will be able to help us out, seeing as he's good with medicine, while Demyx will help keep you calm." Axel nodded and bolted out the door, his fox tail fluffed up from anxiety and the tip flicking back and forth a bit. I was swift to gather all of my herbs that I had and darted into the bedroom, finding Roxas curled up in as small of a ball as he could get into, his eyes shut tight as he tried to block out the agony.

"Roxas? It's me, Night," I called to him, and he whimpered in acknowledgement. I approached him carefully, not wanting to scare him, and gently placed a hand on his stomach. Upon feeling the powerful contractions from the muscles in his abdomen, I pulled my hand away and retrieved my pack with my herbs in it. The front door burst open at that moment, and there were the sounds of hurried footsteps as Axel ran in with Zexion and Demyx. I glanced at them.

"Zexion, thank goodness you're here," I said. "I'll need your help for this." The slate-haired nezumi nodded in acknowledgement, and I quickly turned to Axel and Demyx. "You two need to wait outside of the room," I ordered.

"But—" Axel tried to protest, but the sandy blonde saru placed his hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Don't worry, he'll be fine, Axel," Demyx assured him. "Zexy and Night are good with kind of thing, remember?" Axel nodded slowly, but left with Demyx, casting one last regretful look to Roxas before shutting the door.

"Now, what do you need me to do, Night?" Zexion asked, and I placed a bowl of water in his hands, along with a small cloth.

"Try and keep him comfortable for now," I said. "I need to make a quick pain-reducing herbal drink to give him to try and at least reduce the pain." I quickly set to work as Zexion wiped the sweat off of Roxas's forehead and helped him to sit up and lean back comfortably in the bed. The poor neko's golden blonde ears were pinned flat against his skull from the pain, and he had tears running down his face. I finished the herbal drink and joined Zexion by Roxas's side, putting the edge of the cup to his lips.

"It hurts…" he whimpered, trying to push the cup away, but I kept it in place.

"I know, Roxas, but this will help, I promise," I assured the blonde, and he hesitantly took a sip. As soon as it was in his mouth, he almost spat it out from the bitterness, but I kept his mouth shut with one hand. "I know it tastes awful, but you need to drink this, Roxas."

He swallowed painfully, and almost retched from the awful taste. I knew it was nasty and bitter, but it would work; I knew from personal experience. He drank about half of the cup when he stopped, looking pale. I pulled the cup away from his lips and placed it on the dresser. I wouldn't make him drink any more of it, seeing as he looked like he was gonna throw it back up. Zexion kept wiping his forehead with the cloth and dipping it back into the cool water in the bowl. Roxas screamed in agony suddenly as his contractions became stronger, and I knew it was time. I called Zexion over.

"Zexion, can you please get some blankets? We'll need them for the babies," I told him, and the slate-haired nezumi quickly ran out of the room, his small mouse ears pinned back with the anxiety of the situation. I heard Axel try to bombard Zexion with questions while he was out there, but there were no replies. Instead, there were hurried footsteps as the nezumi darted back into the room, shutting the door behind him with his tail. He held a large stack of folded blankets in his arms, and set them down by me at the end of the bed.

"It's time to start pushing, Roxas," I told the blonde neko, and he opened those sapphire feline eyes, which shone with determination. He nodded timidly, though, as some of that determination wavered when another contraction rolled through his body. He bit back a scream as it happened, and I looked at Zexion, who nodded and walked over to Roxas and held his hand. The neko looked at the nezumi gratefully as he gripped his hand tightly.

"Okay, Roxas, push!" Zexion told him, and Roxas began to push, screaming as he did so. He stopped screaming after a few seconds, and when I finished counting to ten, he was breathing heavily. This process repeated it self a couple more times until I told him to stop.

"The first one is almost out, Roxas, but I can pull it out from here," I told him. "You need to save your energy, because I can feel two more babies in there." He still looked scared, but nodded anyway.

I gently pulled out the first baby, severed the umbilical cord with my claws, and checked the gender. It was a little boy, and he had fuzzy red hair that matched Axel's, plus a small fox tail and ears. I wrapped him up after drying him off, and Zexion joined me as I handed the fox kit to the nezumi. He held the young one carefully, and stood nearby as I had Roxas begin pushing again.

The blonde neko flattened his ears against his head again and shrieked with each push, until after five times of doing this, I had him stop and carefully pulled out the next one. This one had golden blonde fuzzy hair like Roxas's, plus a golden, slender tail and matching pointed ears. The little one whimpered out of fear as I cut the umbilical cord and gently cleaned it off. I checked the gender, and saw it was a boy. I wrapped him up and passed him to Zexion, who easily accepted the small kitten.

Roxas began pushing again, out of breath and looking exhausted, but still trying. "That's it, Roxas," I praised him kindly. "This is the last one. You're almost done. So far, you've got two little boys, and I'm sure they're eager to meet you with their sibling. You can do it!" He screamed as he pushed again, but flopped back against the pillows when he was done after ten seconds had passed.

"Can't…keep going…Too…tired…" he panted, and I rushed to his side.

"Roxas, this is it, the last child," I informed him. "After this, you're done, I promise. When this is all over, you can sleep, okay?"

He nodded wearily, and sucked in a deep breath, beginning to push again. I resumed my position at the end of the bed and coached him through it. Finally, the shoulders came out, and I stopped my friend.

"I'll pull it out from here, Roxas," I told him, and carefully pulled the little one out, cutting the cord once it was out. I dried it off and checked the gender before wrapping it up. A little girl with golden red fuzzy hair, a fluffy tail, and floppy matching ears (Imagine a red golden retriever's color. I used to have one, so they do exist, lol.). She had big, chocolate brown eyes which seemed to observe everything around her, and I smiled warmly at her as I motioned for Zexion to bring the two young boys with him to Roxas.

The two of us gently helped Roxas into a good position on the bed to hold his children, and placed them on the bed with him. I whispered for Zexion to get Axel, but to let him know how Roxas was doing first. The slate-haired nezumi left, his slender mouse tail trailing behind him. I then turned my attention to Roxas.

"What will you name them?" I asked softly.

"This one will be Lea," he said quietly, gesturing to the little redheaded fox kit. He then pointed to the blonde kitten. "This one will be Ventus. And lastly, this one will be Shunketsu," he said, and pulled the little redhead closer to him. She watched me with interested brown eyes, and I gave them all a soft smile.

Suddenly, Axel joined us, looking upset, but his expression became one of relief when he saw his mate and newborn children. He slowly and cautiously approached us, and I moved to sit behind Roxas as he lay on his side so the redheaded kitsune could be close to his family. Axel's ears slowly flattened as he joined us, and I could tell he was nervous.

"Are you all okay?" he asked gently. Roxas nodded in reassurance.

"Yes, the little ones are all healthy, and Roxas is fine, just tired," I informed him. Axel still looked nervous as he sat on the edge of the bed, so Roxas held his hand. The kitsune's ears perked up then, and I knew he would be okay.

"Axel, this is your son, Lea," he said, gesturing to the kit, and then gestured to the kitten and pup in turn. "Your other son, Ventus, and your daughter, Shunketsu." Axel's eyes lit up with joy and pride as Roxas said this, and he carefully leaned over the little ones and kissed his neko on his forehead. The blonde smiled at the contact, and yawned widely.

"Time for you to get some sleep," I chuckled, and my friend nodded slowly, trying not to let his head droop too much. Axel and I picked up their children, and Roxas curled up in the bed, promptly falling asleep as soon as he closed his eyes. I turned to Axel as I held Shunketsu and Ventus and said, "We need to feed them. You have milk, right?" He nodded and quietly called out to Demyx and Zexion, who came over to us. Ventus's large blue eyes stared at them as they approached, as did Lea's vivid green ones. Shunketsu still watched me, her eyes full of curiosity.

"Can you get some milk for us, guys?" Axel asked them politely, and they smiled and nodded. While they got some milk ready for the young ones, we settled down on the couch. I passed Ventus to Axel as the nezumi and saru came back, each holding three bottles of warm milk that were capped with nipples. I thanked them graciously, and Demyx offered to feed one of them so all three could be fed at the same time. Axel passed Ventus to the sandy blonde, and they each began to feed the little dobutsu. Zexion seemed to hear something suddenly, for his grey ears twitched rapidly. He peeked out the window and then turned to us.

"It seems everyone heard the commotion and is here to meet the newborn dobutsu," he informed us. Axel grinned at us, but remained seated as he spoke.

"Might as well let some of them in, then," he said, the pride evident in his voice. Zexion smirked and opened the door, speaking to the group outside, and then led Naminé and Kairi in. The blonde usagi's and redheaded risu's eyes widened at the sight of the newborns, Naminé's long rabbit ears and Kairi's small, pointed squirrel ears perked up excitedly. They fawned over them and cooed until they were finished feeding. They left, congratulating Axel and asking him to pass it on to Roxas as well.

Sora and Riku were next, the brunette inu immediately drawn to Shunketsu, who was watching him interestedly. She reached out from her blanket to tug at one of Sora's floppy brown dog ears, and he chuckled as she did. I pulled her hand back and wrapped her up more snuggly. The silver-haired ookami, on the other hand, seemed more interested in Ventus and Lea. His silver tail wagged slightly as he gently tousled Lea's fuzzy hair, earning a squeal of protest from the kit. He smiled at Sora, and then they left, congratulating Axel and asking him to pass it on to Roxas as well.

Cloud and Leon came in next, each congratulating Axel in their soft voices and also asking him to pass it along to Roxas. The blonde, normally stony-faced dobutsu's face softened when he saw Ventus, and he gently stroked his finger along the kitten's cheek, earning a tiny purr of contentment and making Cloud's panther tail twitch happily at the tip. The brunette raion watched his mate with amusement, his lion tail flicking back and forth at the tip. They left soon after, and Zexion let Reno and Lexaeus in.

The redheaded dobutsu laughed lightly as he went to Lea, noticing the huge resemblance to the young kit's father. His coyote tail wagged happily as he saw each of them. The rusty orange-haired dobutsu, on the other hand, smiled softly as he stayed back. His bear ears were still, but I knew he was happy. They left shortly after, congratulating Axel just like the others and asking him to pass it on to Roxas.

Next came Xaldin and Marluxia, and they were quiet, just simply congratulating Axel and asking him to pass it on to Roxas, but they did take a look at the newborns. The black-haired dobutsu's spotted cheetah tail twitched a bit, but I couldn't tell what he was feeling. The pink-haired jaga, however, cooed a bit over them, his jaguar ears perked up and making him seem happy. They left soon after, and finally, Ansem came in. He came in with some pieces of furniture, though: a rocking chair and a large crib.

"So, these are our newest village members?" the dark blonde tora asked, a small smile on his face. His striped tail was lowered and relaxed, showing his happiness. "I'm surprised there are three, but however many there are, it's a blessing. We're blessed to have young ones in our village, especially after no one having given birth for many years. Also, please accept these gifts, for you'll need them. Congratulation, Axel. Please pass on my congratulations and best wishes to Roxas, as well."

"Thank you, Ansem," Axel told him honestly, bowing his head slightly. Ansem merely chuckled as he left. Once the door was shut, Demyx yawned widely. I looked outside and was startled to see that evening was upon us already. Suddenly, I could feel my stomach snarling at me, and I laughed lightly when I heard Axel's stomach growl, too. Demyx and Zexion congratulated Axel again, and I thanked them again as they left. By this time, all three dobutsu had fallen asleep, so I carried the crib into the bedroom, and we placed the triplets into their crib, covering them with a blanket.

"Why don't you get some sleep, Axel," I suggested, but he shook his head.

"I need something to eat, first," he chuckled, and I nodded in agreement. We both got some food, and once our bellies were full, we went back into the bedroom. Axel crawled into bed with Roxas, who was still fast asleep, and covered both of their waists with his fluffy red tail. I curled up on the rug at the end of the crib, curling my nose into my tail, and once I heard Axel's breathing even out, I fell asleep myself, smiling softly as I did so.

A/N: YAY! Roxy had the babies! I hope you liked this chapter, because I certainly did! Btw, the reason I didn't specify the name at the disclaimer was because I didn't want to give it away. Anyhoo, read and review, peeps! Next chapter should be last, and then it's complete! D:


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Happy AkuRoku Day, guys! Final chapter, this is it, folks! I hope you guys all liked the series! Sorry it has to end, but as the saying goes, "All good things must come to an end." By the way, I apologize for yet another time skip, but I feel it's necessary each time I do it. Enjoy~

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the story, Night, and Shunketsu. And credit for Soku goes too xxpunkgrlxx on DA.

Neko Love

Chapter 7

X*X(8 Years Later)X*X

It had been around eight years since the triplets had been born, and we each had found our little favorite. Obviously we never voiced which one each of us adored the most, but it was obvious to the three of us. Axel was most fond of Lea, Roxas adored Ventus, and I was closest to Shunketsu. We still treated them equally, though. As they each grew older, we noticed how different and unique each one was, both in looks and personality.

Lea was taller than his siblings, and even taller than me. Then again, that's not much; I'm only about a foot and a half tall. The young kitsune's red hair matched Axel's in both color and style, but his ears and tail had a very slight golden tinge to them. I could really only tell in the right lighting. His peridot green eyes seemed to penetrate your spirit sometimes, and he could sometimes tell if someone was lying to him because of it. He was loud and rambunctious, and liked to fool around with Ventus a lot. He had taken the position of protector among the siblings, and kept both his slightly younger brother and sister out of harm's way as often as he could.

Ventus, or Ven, as we had taken to calling him, looked just like Roxas when he was eight years old. He had the same exact naturally spiked hair style, the same colored eyes, and a similar personality. He was quiet, soft-spoken, and kind, but when he got annoyed, whether it by Lea or something, he didn't hold back. He was also the smallest. The only thing that made him different from Roxas with his looks was his ears and tail; those had a slight red tinge to the fur on them.

He was the more sensitive one of the three, able to detect sounds, sights, and scents further away than Axel or Roxas could. I still had him beat, though. I would help him sometimes to hone his senses, and he liked the private time together since Shunketsu always held my attention.

Shunketsu was the wisest one, and always tried to steer her somewhat older siblings from doing something reckless. She also had the best advice for them. She read books that she borrowed from Zexion as often as she could, and that was her preferred activity of choice nowadays.

Seeing as Zexion and Demyx were close friends of ours, they visited nearly every day, and as soon as they arrived, Shunketsu would eagerly ask Zexion if he had a new book for her to read, and he usually did. The slate-haired nezumi had a large collection of thick, difficult-looking books, so I was surprised when Shunketsu had taken a keen liking to them. Then again, it reminded me of the other Shunketsu I knew, my older half-sister. She was wise, and also very stubborn in proving herself.

Anyway, Shunketsu's golden red hair had become slightly wavy over the years and had stayed at a good length a few inches past her shoulders. It was still relatively straight, though, but the waviness made her hair look good. Sometimes she would tie it back in a ponytail, but she kept it down most of the time. Her chocolate brown eyes seemed to shine with a radiance I had never seen before, and they observed everything around her. She was the optimist of the triplets as well, and always cheered her siblings up if they were mad at each other or feeling down, which was rare.

Her floppy ears and long-furred tail matched her hair perfectly, and it always seemed like her tail was wagging at least a little bit all the time, unless she was upset about something, which wasn't often. She always seemed to try and gain my attention, which she was, more often than not, successful at. I was close to her, though, but I tried to show them all an equal amount of affection. It was hard to accomplish when she was always showing me something or sharing something with me that she had learned while reading.

Roxas, Axel, and I had also discovered the triplets' elements one day shortly after they turned eight. Lea, of course, had fire, Ven got light, and Shunketsu seemed to have somehow gained the ability to control aura. She could draw on the aura of the living things around her and focus it into a single point, and then release it at a target. I shouldn't have been too surprised, though. The Shunketsu from my old home was part light dragon, and light dragons were the only ones in the Dragon Realms capable of controlling aura.

Anyway, since Lea could control fire, Axel trained him in keeping it under his control and how to use it and whatnot. Roxas trained Ven in honing his light powers, while I trained Shunketsu on how to maintain a good flow of aura and how to use her powers. They each learned quickly, and were done with their training. Now all they did nowadays was help hunt for the village and their family, do the cleaning, and just play. They were very mature for their age, but they each had their moments when they would just fool around.

Over the years, it was no longer just Axel and Roxas that had a family. Sora and Riku had gotten lucky as well and had a little girl, who they named Soku. She was certainly a cutie, too. She had a mix of her parents' hair; it was silver in the center, but there was brown that seemed to be an outline. Her hair was also somewhat long, with the brown portion being the part that went down her back almost to her waist. The parts of her hair that ran down along the sides of her head, however, were silver. She also had unusual eyes; the left one was as blue as Sora's, but the right one was aqua like Riku's. It was odd, but it just made her that much more unique. She was four years old now, and she was even more hyper than Sora. Sometimes I would spy her and Sora playing outside, and I would smile softly to myself.

Demyx and Zexion were expecting their first child soon, as were Cloud and Leon. Zexion's and Cloud's bellies were swollen from their pregnancies, and I knew it would be any day now that they each gave birth. I once spoke with Ansem about why he thought that the mated pairs had never had any young before Roxas and I arrived, and I shared with him that I felt it was maybe just luck. He told me, though, that it was most likely because it was a sign that dragons brought good luck with them. I doubted it, but told him he was probably right just to please him.

It was peaceful in our home, and one evening, while Roxas and I had a chance to talk alone while Axel was putting the triplets to bed and telling them a story because they begged for one, we took advantage and spoke of how things could have been had we not met Axel. We had been quiet, just waiting for the older kitsune to come out from the triplets' room, when I started our conversation.

"We're lucky, aren't we?" I commented while Roxas lounged on the couch. His golden ears twitched and he looked at me.

"What do you mean?" he asked. I sighed and rolled over from being on my back by the fire onto my side to gaze at my best friend.

"I mean, what if Aerith hadn't been caught hiding us? What if we had had gotten caught before running into Axel? What if we had never even encountered him?" I rambled on, and then Roxas finally interrupted me.

"Night, you could go on forever," he told me. "But the fact of the matter is that none of that stuff happened. Aerith was caught hiding us, we didn't get caught before running into Axel, and we did encounter him. There are so many 'what if's' in life that it's not even funny. What truly matters is that everything that happened to us, happened, and nothing can change that. As long as we're happy with what happened, right?"

"You know what, you're right," I agreed. "Too many things could have gone wrong in our lives, but what matters is what happened in the end. We should be grateful for what we have and the good fortune in our lives, and not ponder what could have happened and any other negative things." I paused, and then murmured, "I'm just grateful that this life is peaceful, and I'm thankful for our good fortune." Roxas nodded in agreement.

"Exactly. I'm happy beyond belief that I have a mate I love with all my heart, and three beautiful children with him that I love just as much, as well as a best friend who has been there for me through thick and thin," he said softly. I grinned at him.

"And I'm assuming that one more child isn't going to change that, huh?" I teased, and the blonde neko blushed. I had noticed that after his last heat, he hadn't had one for a while, he was getting sick every now and then, and that his stomach was starting to swell a bit. It wouldn't be long before Axel noticed. "When are you going to tell him?"

"I'll tell him in the morning," he answered, and then yawned and stretched.

"Tell me what?" Axel's voice asked. Our heads snapped up and stared at Axel, who was standing at the entrance to the hallway.

"I-I'm pregnant again…" Roxas breathed, and the redheaded kitsune's emerald eyes widened. The next thing I knew, Axel was hugging Roxas tightly to his chest, and kissing him tenderly. I chuckled lightly, and the redhead settled on the couch with his blonde neko, curling his fluffy red tail around them both.

"I'm so happy, Roxas," Axel whispered to him, and I smiled softly.

"Same here," Roxas whispered back.

"I love you, Roxas," the kitsune murmured.

"I love you, too, Axel," the neko whispered back. I silently crept outside to sleep in my favorite tree hollow, leaving the mated pair to themselves. I knew that no matter what, they would always be happy, and there was nothing that could ever change that.

A/N: The End! I hope you guys liked this, and that it wasn't too much of a cliff! Thanks!


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